SLA Clearance Gauge

thingiverse

_Overview_ A clearance gauge intended to measure the excess material on SLA prints due to "toolpath" width and laser spread in resin. The gauge consists of a base and a top. The base is marked at 1 mm intervals, and the top forms a vernier scale with 0.05 mm increments. _Operation_ The taper in the channel between top and base is 5 mm / 100 mm. Thus 1 mm displacement measured on the vernier scale represents 0.05 mm excess matrial on the taper. *Note*: This is the total excess material on both mating faces. Thus excess toolpath width = 1/2 measured value. _Quick Guide_ 1. Print ClearanceGauge.stl on a calibrated printer. I'd suggest keeping the long dimension along Z in the printer. 2. Clean and cure print for ease of use. 3. Slide parts together and gently push scale toward zero until taper resists. 4. Take measurement from Vernier Scale. This is the "Displacement" 5. Calculate excess material due to toolpath thickness: 0.05 * Displacement / 2 6. Optionally test by editing ClearanceVerification.scad to modify the variable "clearance" to your measured value, then render and print test piece.